Local couple on Oklahoma family: "They just rebuild and go on"

Share this story

VANCOUVER, Wash. – A Vancouver couple with deep ties to Oklahoma said Tuesday they worry for their family members in the tornado-stricken town of Moore, but believe “they’re not just going to give up.”

“They just rebuild and go on,” Kathy Horne said. “The Oklahoma people are very strong people.”

Kathy Horne and her husband, John, have family members in Moore, the town hit by Monday’s massive tornado. All their family members are accounted for, but one relative did lose a home and shop, they said.

Drawing from their Oklahoma roots, the couple said people living in what’s commonly known as “tornado alley” can sense when a twister is coming.

“When you’re back there, it’s just a feeling in the air – it changes,” John said. “The sky turns a little bit of a green color and you see the rotation in the clouds and low-hanging clouds.”

Originally from Oklahoma, John has dealt with losing everything in an instant.

“It’s a combination of just total helplessness and that will shift real quick to helping people out,” John said. “Helping out your neighbors or helping out the rest of your family.”

Residents of Oklahoma learned to live with these forces of nature, he said.

“This time of year you keep a radio or TV on,” John said. “You keep an eye out on the sky.”

The couple said their relatives are true to their roots and the devastation won’t drive them from Oklahoma.

“Stay strong. That’s the whole thing to keep the community together,” Kathy said.